Unexpected Love
by AGuyWhoUsedToWrite
Summary: It was an off-chance meeting in a bar that turned her crappy valentine into one that she would remember. A Valentine's Day One-Shot for the #SnowBarryValentine2019 Challenge.


Happy Valentine's Day. This is a one-shot for the #snowbarry valentine 2019 challenge. Fun fact, I actually wrote multiple story lines for this challenge but I ended up going with this one because it appealed to me for some reason. It could have been due to shyesplease's previous one-shots or it could be that I always wanted to be a bartender. Whatever the case, I might post up the other ones later though so please enjoy and hopefully, it measures up to all the other great authors out there.

* * *

In his defense, when he initially agreed to cover for Oliver, he thought it was going to be a breeze, a piece of cake but he soon realized that being a bartender was more than just memorizing recipes for cocktails and looking pretty. It was also about keeping the customers happy and ensuring that the bar had enough supplies to keep running. There was probably a whole lot more but seeing as how he was only doing it for one night...

Some of that information might have gotten lost during the training session.

It also didn't help that he was working on Valentine's Day, one of the busiest nights of the year.

So with only a few hours into his shift, Barry found himself cursing Oliver's name each time those wooden doors opened, as more and more customers came into the bar. He poured the last of the Manhattan into an empty glass and took the opportunity to catch his breath. He couldn't believe just how many people were out tonight and the sheer amount of drink orders made him reconsider doing this for free.

He glanced towards Johnny, the other bartender, and saw that he was struggling to keep up so he made his way over; giving the British man a quick pat on the shoulders as he walked past him. They shared a nod and he immediately went to work, his finger pointing to several people as they shouted their drink orders at him.

"You're a life-saver mate." Johnny said, shouting over the noise. He ducked under the counter and pulled out several glasses, putting them on the table and quickly filled them up with beer. "Worst possible day for Ollie to take off. That pisser couldn't have waited until tomorrow to take off?"

Barry nodded, quite understanding the man's exasperation. "You know he's good for it though." He shouted back. "Just take that bottle of Scotch I saw you eyeing all night as payment."

Johnny laughed and clapped Barry on the back. "You're all right Allen." The man returned his attention back to his customers, which were a group of ladies hoping to score some free shots. He saw that sly smile on Johnny's face and decided that he was better off not knowing where that conversation was going to go.

As Barry made his way to the other end of the bar, a loud thud from the door drew his attention and he saw a woman walk through, the sounds of her heels tapping against the wooden floors as she crossed the threshold. His eyes drifted towards her and he couldn't help but to notice just how beautiful she looked, the way that red dress of hers accentuated her natural curves. He couldn't think of anything that was more appropriate for the holiday than the color of her dress. He took one more look at her before turning his attention back to his customers.

After a few minutes, Barry began to wonder what happened to that mystery brunette so he started looking around and to his surprise, he found her still standing by the door. She had a perplex expression on her face, almost if she was trying to unravel a puzzle. He followed her gaze and saw that she was looking for a free table and he inwardly chuckled. If she wanted a table, she should have shown up three hours earlier. Everyone that was here right now was here for the long haul, going until the bell rang for final call. He saw her shoulders drop and watched as she started making her way over to the bar, taking note that there was an empty seat by him. She took a seat and leaned forward, her eyes taking a quick peek to see what other people were drinking.

Barry waited a few seconds before strolling over with the bar menu, smiling as he walked up to her. "So what can I get for you tonight?" He asked as he handed her the menu.

"Just a glass of red please." She answered as she left the menu untouched on the counter. She then sighed and lowered her head, hoping that some wine would make up for her disastrous evening.

He nodded and reached under the counter, pulling out a bottle of red. "House red okay for you?" He said, holding the bottle in front of him.

"Sure." She nonchalantly answered. "Whatever works."

Barry couldn't help but notice the crestfallen look on her face, wondering why a beautiful girl like her would be so depressed but he held his tongue. It certainly wasn't his place to ask but as long as she wasn't in any danger, that was good enough for him. "Would you like to open up a tab miss?" He asked as he poured her a glass of red wine.

"That won't be necessary." She curtly replied.

He raised an eyebrow, his curiosity now getting the better of him. "Horrible date?"

"Excuse me?" She asked, her tone dropping several degrees as she stared at Barry. "Why would you assume that I had a horrible date?"

"I wasn't -"

"Yes you were." She interrupted, still glaring at him. "Let's say hypothetically that I did have a horrible date. Are you going to pretend to come to my rescue and then we'll fall madly in love afterwards? How _chivalrous_ of you."

"Yes, I mean No. Of course not! I'm so sorry! It sounded much better in my head. Not that I was thinking about you in my head." Barry spluttered. He then paused and shook his head. "I swear that I didn't mean to offend you and I'm sorry that it came out like that but I can explain if you'd give me a chance."

She sighed and stared at her bartender, who was standing there looking very uncomfortable. She didn't quite understand why the entire male species think that it's their responsibility to fix everything. Maybe she wanted to be in a miserable mood. Maybe she just wants to wallow in her own self-pity because it was her own mistake to agree to that date in the first place. "Okay fine." She finally answered, gesturing for him to go ahead. Even though she was positive this was going to be a mistake, a part of her was curious to see how he would even try to get out of this mess.

At the very least, she would have a good story to tell tomorrow.

Relief washed over him, his cheeks still blushing from earlier. "So what I was trying to say before I shoved my foot in my mouth was that compared to everyone else in here, you're different. There's something about you that makes you stand out and if I were to hazard a guess, I'm thinking it might be that vibe of yours."

"My... vibe?" She asked, tilting her head in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

Barry took a second to look around and then subtly pointed towards Johnny. "See those women by Johnny? The other bartender?" He pointed in the opposite direction and her eyes followed. "When I look at those women down there, I can tell that they came into this bar with one goal in mind. To get wasted and to have a good time but not you. You came in here looking for a quiet spot to have a drink, probably trying to get away from everything. You're not trying to attract anyone's attention and you just wanted to be left alone."

"And how does that account for the horrible date part?"

"Oh that's the easy part. Like I mentioned earlier, compared to the rest of the female population in this bar, you stand out with the way you're dressed. You're wearing a very beautiful dress that's not ostentatious. You're carrying a very expensive yet worn-out handbag which I assume is your favorite and your heels still look brand new but the creases on the tip tells me that their broken in. I can tell that you put some thought into your outfit choice which means that you considered tonight a date but given that it's still pretty early, the date probably didn't go well."

She stared at him with widened eyes, surprised by his keen observation skills. "That's very impressive Mr. Bartender." She softly said. "So what else can you tell me?"

"That's it actually." Barry said, chuckling. "Aside from the fact that today's Valentine's Day and if you're in here instead of being out there with someone, something must have gone wrong and it's not my place to question your life choices. As long as you're not in any trouble, that's good enough for me."

"Thank you..." She muttered, feeling her cheeks heat up from his words. She averted her eyes and took a small sip of wine. From the moment that first drop hit her tongue, she wasn't able to mask her surprise because of just how delicious it tasted. She took another sip and then held up her glass, her face scrunched up as she tried to figure out why this wine was so good. She deduced that this couldn't be their house wine because from past experiences, house wines were usually something inexpensive and this did not taste cheap.

Before she had a chance to ask, another customer flagged her bartender's attention and as he walked away, she took the opportunity to observe him. It was only fair after all since he did it to her first. She smiled as she watched him move, his hands gracefully going through the motions of creating cocktails after cocktails, serving them with that goofy grin of his. She couldn't help but notice that he was mixing enough alcohol to give his customers a nice buzz.

A trait that she definitely appreciated.

By the time Barry came back, he noticed that her glass was empty and offered to fill it back up. "One more miss?"

"This isn't house wine though." She pointed out. "If you don't mind me asking, what kind of wine is this?"

"Ah guilty." He said, blushing as he pulled out the same bottle from earlier and placed it in front of her. "It's one of the better bottles that we have in the bar. Just don't tell my boss okay?" He whispered, giving her a wink.

"Do you do this with all your customers?" She blurted out and then she looked away, feeling embarrassed by her outburst. "Sorry, that's none of my business."

"It just so happens that this is my first time doing something like this." Barry admitted. "You looked like you needed something better than our house wines." He refilled her glass and wiped the table clean before sliding her glass back over. "My name is Barry by the way. Just give me a shout if you need anything else."

"Caitlin." She softly replied. "You know, for a bartender, you're pretty observant."

Barry laughed, "That's because I'm not a full-time bartender. It's my first time being one actually."

"Seriously?" Caitlin exclaimed, completely shocked by his answer. It was hard to believe because from what she's seen, he certainly moved like a seasoned bartender but he didn't look like one because compared to his other colleague, he has more of a slender build which she kind of liked on him. "If you're not a bartender, then what do you do for a living?"

"I'm a CSI for CCPD." He said, smiling at her. "I know it's not exciting as being a detective but I love my job. I can do more good by being in a lab."

"Wow, I would've never pegged you for a CSI." She admitted, her lips tugging upward into a small smile. "You're just full of surprises aren't you Barry." The last part she whispered.

"So what do you do Miss Caitlin?"

"I work at S.T.A.R Labs." She answered and she saw his eyes lighting up. "I take it that you know what that is?" She teased.

He feverishly nodded. "Who wouldn't recognize S.T.A.R. Labs? With the famous Harrison Wells? He's like my idol and the work that you guys have done on the particle accelerator? That is absolutely groundbreaking." Barry rambled and then stopped, blushing. "Sorry, didn't mean to fanboy out. I never thought I would get to meet someone that actually works with Harrison Wells. Do you actually get to call him Harrison or Doctor Wells?"

Caitlin giggled and shook her head. "Just Doctor Wells and don't be embarrassed. It's quite refreshing to actually find someone who understands the type of work that we do."

Barry nodded in agreement. "You won't believe how many times people have a blank look when I tell them that I'm a CSI. Some of the best answers I've gotten was 'oh I'm part of that fraternity as well' and my personal favorite, 'oh I didn't know that was a real job. I thought that was just a TV show.'" He smirked at the last bit.

"So if you're a CSI, how come you're working here? And on Valentine's Day no less?"

"I was free tonight so I'm covering for a friend." Barry answered. "It's not too bad. He had a date with his girlfriend and I kind of owed him one..."

She couldn't help but smile. Not only was he charming, he was selfless as well and on top of that, talking with him felt so natural that she wanted to spend more time with him. She wouldn't normally be so bold in asking someone out like this so she took another sip of her wine for that liquid courage. "What time do you get off today Barry?"

His eyes widened, completely caught off-guard by her question. He started blushing, his cheeks turning red. "I'm so sorry Caitlin. I think you're very beautiful and any guy would be extremely lucky but I'm not that kind of guy... If you like, I'm sure Johnny would be more than willing..." He said as his voice started to trail off.

Caitlin did a double-take and then started stammering, realizing what she was implying. "No-no, it's not like that!" She argued, her cheeks blushing as well. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go to a coffee shop with me Barry. Like you said, it's still early and I don't really want this night to end yet."

"In that case, it would be my pleasure." Barry answered. "Tell you what, why don't we head over now? There's a nice coffee shop just a few blocks from here and they're open pretty late."

"Great!" She said, immediately agreeing and just as she was about to reach for her credit card, she found Barry's hand gently stopping her.

"It's on the house."

"Are you sure? I don't want to get you in trouble."

"Absolutely." He said and then jerked his thumb towards Johnny. "He's been giving out free shots all night so I don't see why I can't do the same and besides, if management has an issue, maybe he doesn't ask me for a favor next time."

She softly laughed and nodded. "So I'll see you outside then?" She asked, with a little uncertainty in her tone.

"Definitely Caitlin. I just need to do a few things but I shouldn't be more than a few minutes."

True to his word, Barry walked out the door after a few minutes, holding onto his jacket. He walked up to Caitlin who was standing there smiling at him but he saw her shiver slightly. Being the gentlemen that he was, he offered his jacket. Caitlin gratefully took it and wrapped it around her shoulders, finding comfort in Barry's natural scent. They started walking in silence and she would occasionally steal glances at him, her heart fluttering more and more with each step that they took.

"So..." He said, awkwardly laughing. He rubbed the back of his neck, "Is this strange for you?" He asked, breaking the silence with a joke.

Caitlin smiled, shaking her head. "A little but you've been better company than my date so there's that."

"That bad huh?" He asked. "Maybe the guy was nervous."

She shook his head. "You don't need to defend him Barry. He was a pompous ass, conceited and only stared at my chest the entire time."

Barry apologized, "On behalf of males everywhere, I'm sorry. If it was me, the first thing I would have done is compliment just how beautiful you look in that dress. It's a shame that you had to spend Valentine's Day in a bar."

"I wouldn't say that it was too bad. I did meet this guy though."

He picked up on her words and smiled. "And what did this guy do to brighten up your night?"

"He listened." She answered, looping her arm around his. "He listened and asked me if I was alright." She leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked, continuing with the small talk. "To me, that's worth all the horrible Valentines in the world."

* * *

Let me know what you guys think in the reviews and I'll see you all next time.


End file.
